Ashland kennel worker repeatedly beat dog, authorities say

A caretaker at an Ashland kennel, enraged by a dog's friskiness, repeatedly kicked and beat the 1-year-old chocolate Labrador last week, an attack captured on the business' webcam, according to police and the kennel owner.

Michael Edison, 23, of Marlborough, arrested by Ashland Police on Friday, appeared to be angry that the dog named Dexter didn’t want to come out of the rain, but rather wanted to play, the owners of Camp Canine, 202 Pond St., said on Monday, the MetroWest Daily News reported.

"What we saw was horrific," said owner Kimberly Cardiff, who bought Camp Canine with her husband, William Craig, last month.

"This, this was brutal," said Craig. "We were in absolute shock."

On Thursday, Cardiff said she showed up to work at 6:25 a.m. and found Edison, who had worked there for two and a half years, already there. He was soaking wet from the rain and appeared to be in a "state of rage," Cardiff said.

Edison told her that Dexter had attacked him and had "lunged at his throat," but he was not hurt, Cardiff said.

Cardiff said she went to check on the dogs, who were all unusually quiet. The normally rambunctious Dexter appeared to be cowering. She said she took the dog out to throw a ball and he acted normally. However, she said she noticed blood on the ball, but found no injuries on the dog.

Later that day, she and her husband realized that they could look at the webcam they have set up for customers to watch the dogs on their website to see what happened.

"The situation didn’t sit well with me," said Cardiff. "I just felt … I felt something wasn’t right."

To start the day, all of the overnight dogs are let out to relieve themselves then are brought back into the kennel and fed. The videos shows Edison doing just that, but Dexter would not comply.

"Dexter wouldn’t come in," said Craig. "We could see on the video him (Edison) running around outside, chasing Dexter. He’s still very much a puppy."

Edison tried to herd Dexter with a rake, and then tried hitting him with the rake, Craig said. The dog and Edison are off camera for a few seconds and the next time they are seen, Edison is dragging Dexter by the collar to the kennel.

Once in the kennel, it appears Edison is thinking for a few seconds before "he kicks Dexter two or three times," Craig said.

Edison then dragged Dexter to a different section of the kennel, which is off camera, but Craig said you could see Edison pull his leg back four or five times to kick Dexter again.

"You see Dexter come running out, cowering, trying to get into his run," said Craig. "About 20, 25 seconds later, he (Edison) comes into view and grabs Dexter by the head and slams into the floor four or five times. He picks him up, throws him into the run and goes in after him."

There is no camera in the run, so it is not known what happened in there, Craig said. However, he said the run’s metal grates had a large dent that had not been there previously.

Cardiff said they called friend Ron Brandolini, the deputy police chief in Framingham, who contacted the Ashland Police.

Police arrested Edison, of 13 Settlers Lane, on Friday, and charged him with animal cruelty.

At Edison’s Framingham District Court arraignment on Monday, prosecutor Nate Burris said police showed Edison the video of him attacking the dog and he said, "Oh my God, that’s horrible."

Edison admitted he is on the video, but did not offer a reason for attacking the dog.

"It’s all true," Burris said, quoting Edison.

It is not known if the dog is injured, Burris said.

Edison posted $1,000 bail after his arrest and was released. Burris asked Judge Douglas Stoddart to increase the bail to $5,000.

Edison’s lawyer, Mark Wester, argued against raising the bail. He said Edison has worked at Camp Canine for two and a half years without any problems and there is no evidence he has ever abused an animal before.

Wester also said that Edison has Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD.

Stoddart did not increase the bail. He ordered Edison to stay 15 yards away from any domesticated animals except the two cats that live with him and his mother.Cardiff and Craig said they contacted the family who own the dog. Those owners, they said, appreciated that Cardiff and Craig did not try to hide what happened. They have not gotten an update on Dexter’s condition.

Craig said he has reviewed about a month's worth of video to see if there are any other instances of abuse. He said he plans to examine all six months of video they have.

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These adorable pets need new homes! Maybe yours?

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